French champions fancied to win with ease

Celtic were ruthlessly exposed by Paris Saint-Germain at Parkhead in September and it would be safe to expect more of the same at Parc des Princes.

The French champions raced to a routine 5-0 win in Glasgow on matchday one as Celtic slumped to their heaviest home loss in the competition.

The French side’s right-back Dani Alves insists there will be no letting up from the already-qualified Parisians and while talk is cheap they ought to be more than good enough to dismantle their Scottish opponents once more.

Yes, they’ve got a big game at the weekend with a trip to Monaco. But Brendan Rodgers also has an eye on Sunday’s Betfred League Cup final against Motherwell.

And Rodgers is also acutely aware that of the two Group B matches left to play, the clash with Anderlecht for third place in two weeks is the only one that matters.

Unai Emery’s men look certainties and are priced accordingly. The PSG-PSG double result bet will be a popular alternative, as will PSG and over 3.5 goals. Both are still long odds-on shots, however.

Another option might be the 4-5 that the outfit Paris win both halves, something they achieved at Parkhead and something they’ve also managed in eight of their nine home games this season. Hills go 1-2 that PSG come out on top in both periods.

They’ve won both home games to nil in the Champions League – and they are on course to become the first team to go through a group campaign without conceding. They’ve lost only one of their last 26 home Champions League ties – and that was against Barcelona – and have won 15 and drawn the other two of their 17 matches this term in all competitions.

They are the real deal and while Celtic fans can tell you a thing or two about unbeaten records, these teams simply don’t compare.

PSG are 21-20 to win to nil, something they’ve done in each of their four matches so far.

Given how little of the ball Celtic are likely to see and how poor a threat they were in the home tie, that has to look attractive. Rodgers’ men found the net against Bayern Munich in their last European encounter but that doesn’t alter the fact that chances for the Scots are going to be at a premium.